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For two years now, those of us in Northwest Nassau County, NY, have been teased by the following sign in a storefront of the Lake Success Shopping Center in New Hyde Park, NY. Long time, for sure. They have other locations ALL over! So, when a friend who lives in the Bronx invited me to dinner last week, and one of the restaurants she suggested was Ugly Dumpling, I couldn’t have said YES fast enough!
The Bronx location is in Co-op City, in the Bay Plaza Shopping Center, at 270 Baychester Ave, Bronx, NY 10475. There’s paid parking, and I think free parking too. I parked in the garage, and it was a very short walk to the entrance. With time to kill before the reservation time, I checked out the mall. But no one is here to read about that! I circled back to the entrance, and we were promptly seated. Dinner was scheduled for 8:30 PM. They close at 10:00 PM, so it wasn’t too crowded.
I was immediately taken by how modern it was and its upscale vibes. It’s not upscale, per se, but it’s very appealing.
There wasn’t a lot of action going on inside the “Bro Lab” where they prepare the dumplings. Probably because of the late hour. I’m not sure why it’s called the Bro Lab. I also don’t know what it’s called UGLY Dumpling, either. I meant to ask about that, but kept forgetting to ask.
The seating area was very nice, and there are plenty of tables:
The walls were adorned with steamer baskets, and they were also used in the wall sconces:
The menu was fairly extensive, with, as you would expect, plenty of dumpling options, and also soups, appetizers, dim sum, noodles, options “from the wok”, and a dozen or so entrees. Bubble teas and a few dessert options are also on the menu. Plenty of choices for a full dining experience. They also serve adult beverages:
You must be starving by now! All this jibber jabber and not one mention of the food we ate. Let’s go! Let’s GO!
We started with Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao). Six different options. We chose the traditional pork. These were as you would expect. They were ok. The soup was hot. Not plentiful, and the wrapper was a little on the thick side. Also, the pork filling was lacking in quantity. More about quantity later.
Another Dim Sum option was up next. Roast Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao). They started so promisingly! The buns were perfect. And big! With a delicious texture and sweetness. But where’s the beef? Err, pork?? Not much there. Really! You could starve eating these. The flavor was good. But there were like three tiny, err, teeny-tiny pieces of pork. Very disappointing. More on that later.
One entree to share: Chicken Fried Rice. First, it looked nothing like the picture, which showed long strips of chicken over the rice. You have to look really closely to see the chicken. Move closer. Closer! And the rice? Can’t say that it looked fried. And the worst of it? It was tasteless. Very disappointing.
The Final Verdict:
Disappointment. All that wait to be let down when I finally got the opportunity.
There are better Chinese restaurant options in Northwest Nassau County, and especially in Queens, NY. For dumplings, I would go to Lucky Dumplings (The Chinese Quest recently did a full review, which will be published soon), White Bear in Great Neck, Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumpings in Westbury (and locations in Flushing, and all over), JIA Dim Sum in Port Washington, and You Garden Xiao Long Bao in Bayside (and locations in Westbury, and in Flushing).
Have you been to Ugly Dumpling? What other Chinese restaurants, takeout or sit-down, should I try next? Please share your comments below.
Humbly submitted for your consumption,
—Mee Magnum (“Chop! Chop!”)
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